


A Stacked Deck

by merryfortune



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: All Chapters Are Canon Compliant, Angst, Blood, Bullying, Content Warnings On Each Chapter, Gen, Injury, Multi, Other, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-13 01:52:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16007819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryfortune/pseuds/merryfortune
Summary: Prompt fills for the Arc V Angst Week 2018 held on tumblr. This is missing prompt 7 (home) because I never completed the set.





	1. Heartland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shun is bitter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: post-canon, grief, death mentions

  Shun honestly doesn’t remember who he was before the war. Not with all the trauma from it he’s carrying now. All the stress, all the anxiety, all the paranoia, all the horrors he had seen and all the horrors he has committed. That’s who he was now. Who he was before the Heartland invasion, honestly doesn’t matter.

  That Shun may as well as be dead. Even Shun himself didn’t remember that boy the war turned into a survivor, a soldier, a haggard and decrepit teenager who was supposed to somehow smile after everything.

  An arsenic fury builds up inside of him and he doesn’t know how to express it. He only knows how to suppress it. He can’t show weakness. Weakness would get him killed but he didn’t have to worry about that. No, he shouldn’t have to worry about that. He still worries about that even though there’s nothing left for him to lose.

  He’s lost his home. He’s lost his sister. He’s lost his best friend.

  See? Nothing.

   The worst part was the creeping sensation not unlike capgras syndrome. He saw their faces in the faces of two near-strangers from a different dimension. And whenever he dwelt too long on how Ruri came to become his sister, he felt sickened. She was like a changeling. Non-existentant and yet, so real. Accepted into his home without second thought because that’s how the universe willed it; nay, that’s how her spirit, that woman Ray, willed it or something.

   And now fucking everyone feels like they have to preach to him about grieving and loss. On some level, Shun does accept that he’s not the only one who had been ruined by the outcome of everything. But, that was a very shallow and peripheral acceptance and he was too far gone into the depths of his personal suffering to truly do anything with that knowledge. 


	2. Awakened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuto recalls an important memory to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight AU but I don't want to spoil it. Pre-canon.
> 
> Warnings: Bullying, injuries, blood, berserk mode

  Yuto used to run a Forest of Spirits deck. Most would be surprised to hear that given his current personality; Ruri had even laughed at him when he told her that, but he didn’t mind. The purpose of telling her was to prove that he could trust her with more vulnerable and embarrassing information about himself. To make her laugh had been the point. But still, it was surprising.

  Those halcyon days of running a Forest of Spirits deck was quite some time ago now. Or at least it felt like it. He was fourteen, after all. It was when he was still just a little kid, about eleven, really, that he used to run his Spirit deck. He wasn’t even out of elementary school yet. However, the shift between using his Spirit monsters and using his Phantom Knight monsters was quite a difference. Honestly, that day left a lasting impact on Yuto for more than a few reasons. For a start, it marked him as different but that’s getting ahead of the story.

  So, let’s start simply. Yuto used to run Forest of Spirits deck. Why? Well, because he was a kid. He used to be a cute kid. He still was a cute kid, according to the likes of Ruri but he used to be a cuter kid. One with wider eyes and a stranger headspace. Because that’s just how kids were. How he was; even long before the war and destruction of Heartland.

  He loved fantasy stories. He still does love fantasy stories. Its just he used to love romantic fairy tales a lot. Now, he preferred fantasia which came with a heavier price than “happily ever after” but back then, he liked stories filled with pure and wondrous imagination. He liked stories where heroes slew the dragon and won the heroine’s love and they would go onto live a blessed life that savoured love and glory.

  It had been hopeful stories like that which had kept Yuto going. He’d always been the odd kid out. He was shorter and bit of a cry baby; he had bad eyesight and wore dorky glasses. He talked to his cards like they were real people. His family situation was mysterious at best and pitiful at worst. And there was also this aura about him. Like something wasn’t quite right; like there was something lurking beneath the surface which wasn’t right. Thus, where there was the inability to meet conformity, bullying resulted.

  And there was this one kid in Yuto’s grade whose favourite pastime was making sure the odd one out in their class remembered his place. For the most part, Yuto was a cowardly victim; remaining in line and licking his wounds later. He didn’t want to be noticed. He didn’t want to stick out. And the teachers weren’t being helpful. He wasn’t dumb. He knew there was something off about him as well, or maybe that’s just what had been drilled into him the course of being bullied and not having any defences. Any defences except for books and, of course, dueling.

  Yuto hid in the library most of the time. There were so many nooks and crannies so, he was able to find suitable places to wear out time with. Plus, he could read all the fairy tales he wanted so that was good too. He dreamed of the day he would be able to don a red cloak and take a sword into battle.

  So, he found his weapons of choice: cards. Not just in the library, but in class too, Yuto studied with the intention of becoming the best because he knew, if he could just win one duel – the right duel – everything would fall into place. He wouldn’t have to be a target anymore.

  Over and over, he would recite his plans for heroism to Elemental Mistress Doriado. People would tease Yuto and say that Doriado was useless and weak. Just like him. But he didn’t mind. He thought she was perfect just the way she was. That’s why he crowned his Elemental Mistress Doriado as “ace” of his deck.

  And it was because he crowned such a ‘worthless’ card his ace that one day, when everything which had been brewing over the course of his bullying, that one day, his tormentor snapped and decided he would take everything from Yuto. Well, perhaps not everything. Just that which meant most him: that ‘worthless’ card.

  At some point during, what had been an otherwise uneventful school day, the class bully stole Yuto’s deck from him. Yuto was both terrified and delighted. This is it. this was the moment he had been waiting for. This was the day he would take upon a hero’s mantle and rescue the heroine. In this case, the heroine was his beloved ace card, Elemental Mistress Doriado. So, he marched himself out of the classroom and into the courtyard, intent on doing something to his tormentor the moment he saw that cruel child. Yet he shook in his boots the whole way.

  And it hadn’t taken Yuto very long. In fact, his bully greeted him with a tutting smugness.

  “You really are dumb,” he said, “I mean, it took you all day to realise your precious cards were gone.”

  “D-Duel me.” Yuto mewled.

  The bully’s brow twinged. “Is that little voice the best you got, Ute? You sound pathetic. Like a girl.”

  “Duel me!” Yuto yelled with more conviction this time; his little fist in a tiny ball that quivered in front of him and yet, he seemed to be growing more confident as time went by.

  The bully clicked his tongue and sent Yuto’s deck flying. The cards went scattering and Yuto picked up each one with clawing desperation. The bully laughed. But, Yuto stood on his haunches regardless. He set his Duel Disc and D-Gazer.

  “Duel me.” Yuto instructed.

  “Sure,” his bully replied, “on one condition: the ante rule. We both put up our best card.”

  “Done.” Yuto replied.

  There was a pause. The bully set his own Duel Disc and D-Gazer. Then, a moment later, both youths yelled at each other: “Duel, start!”

  This duel had been like none other. It had been fuelled by Yuto’s passion. This bully – Ryuji – would be the dragon that he would slay to win his heroine and honour. If he could win, he could win everything. And, if he lost, he would lose it all. It was truly a picture-perfect battle.

  The best part was, Yuto was winning. He had stumbled at first. His plays were hesitant, and he had made mistakes and yet, he believed in his cards. He knew, deep down, that he had what it would take to win. He could feel glory and victory in his heart and he would bring it to fruition and with that pure-hearted conviction, he changed the tides of battle. With just a turn, his Forest of the Spirits deck had been able to overcome everything his bully threw at him.

  And yet, he hadn’t been able to play his best card. It was coming down to the wire now. Yuto and Ryuji had equal life points: 300 hundred. And Ryuji’s best monsters were in the graveyard with no hope of resurrection and the monsters he did have on his field, were fodder for stronger troops which were unable to be summoned; at least in this point in time.

  Best of all, it was the beginning of Yuto’s turn and he had just drawn a card which would end this battle magnificently. His third copy of the Pre-Preparation Rites card had been drawn! The other two had been sealed off from use during the course of the battle. His heart pounded as he read the card’s title over and over again. He couldn’t believe it. Finally, now was the time.

  With a shaking hand and excited smile, Yuto placed the card into position: “I use my spell card, Preparation of Rites!” he called out.

  The card glittered as the Duel Disc recognised his turn. The castle which appeared on the card appeared in the holographic space between them. It drew up from the ground with hallowed reverence and soon, options flashed across Yuto’s screen as he vibrated with pure joy. This would be the moment in which he would summon Elemental Mistress Doriado and show not just his bully, but the whole world, that his ace monster was the best ace monster ever!

  Yuto made his first selection. “I choose the spell card Doriado’s blessing!”

  His deck spat out the card. It had come from the very bottom. Yuto plucked it with eagerness and added it to his hand. He could hardly contain his elation as the screen moved to the next phase of the spell’s effect.

  “Now, I choose Elemental Mistress Doriado from my deck!” Yuto cried out excitedly.

  “Heh.” His bully choked out what was supposed to have been a laugh.

  “Huh?” Yuto mumbled and then, his blood ran cold.

  Error. Error. Error. Card not in deck. Unable to retrieve. System error. Those sorts of messages ran across his screen. Yuto forced his gaze across the battle field. Ryuji laughed raucously. He tipped his head back.

  “You really are stupid, Ute!” he bellowed.

  He fumbled with something in his breast pocket. Yuto’s quivering ceased being of a euphoric nature and turned to something far more fearful. His heart pounded in his ears and he felt hot, pinpricks of tears in the corner of his eyes.

  “What’s… What’s going on?” Yuto asked, his voice crumbling in the air.

  “Were you looking for this?” Ryuji asked, and he brandished a card.

  Through the dimness of sundown, Yuto wasn’t immediately certain what it was but he knew better. He wanted it to be anything else than Elemental Mistress Doriado but alas.

  Ryuji smirked. “As if I’d let you defeat me using a trash card like this. Beat me like a man, you wuss.”

  And then the unthinkable happened.

  Yuto could take verbal abuse. He would even have withstood a bashing or similar. However, this was far worse and far crueler than sticks and stones and words.

  Ryuji held the card on its side. And he tore it in two. The ever-smiling Elemental Mistress Doriado was now smiling through her death sentence. The sight of it tore Yuto’s heart in two.

  Yuto screamed out. But Ryuji delighted in the act of shredding the card in two. He delighted in how Yuto begged for him to stop. And he especially delighted in how Yuto slumped to his knees; hands dragging in the dust and that look upon his face was palpable.

  Big, fat tears welled up into Yuto’s eyes and a sadness like no other filled him. But that sadness, that grief over the destruction of his ace card and best friend, was not an ordinary sadness. It soon gave way to some sort of anger as the sky darkened and the sun sank below the earth. It didn’t seem a nary star was out.

  Truthfully, Yuto didn’t know the emotion that flowed through him in that awful moment. But it had been a very powerful anger and it had not been a righteous one. Well, perhaps it could have been if Yuto had been a different person, but alas, he was Yuto: one whole of a whole person.

  The anger which coursed through his veins didn’t match the description of the righteous anger that Yuto had come to recognise from the hours he had spent faithfully reading fairy tales as they were a godsend and were basically sacred texts. When the hero was angered at trickery from a heinous villain, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to be so… awful feeling. It had felt more like how the awakening of an evil monster was described.

  Yuto’s body and his lips peeled back in a snarl. His heart hammered and every hair on his little, often frail, body stood on end.

  “The fun… has only just begun.” he breathed and each sound was steeped deeply with seething.

  “What the hell, Ute…? What’s happened to you?” Ryuji asked.

  He was slightly terrified of Yuto. He got up slowly. Mechanically. It was like something had possessed him or if a marionette’s cross existed invisibly above his head. Regardless, there was something cold and inhuman regarding Yuto’s movements. They were jerky and rigid at the same time.

  Then, a light exploded forth from where the extra deck was stored on the Duel Disc. The error messages from before had faded away. Yuto slammed his summoned Doriado’s Blessing into the Graveyard. He smiled evilly. Ryuji shivered. Something was not quite right. In fact, it was extremely wrong, even.

  Yuto thrust out his arm. His fingers twitched. He didn’t know or understand the words in his mouth. He had always been an oddball. That’s partially why he played a Ritual Deck in a school, nay a world, which preferred XYZ Summoning with seeming prejudice unto the few other summoning methods there were, and yet… That’s what he found himself on the brink of summoning, as impossible as it was.

  Furthermore, what was more impossible than summoning a card that he should not own was summoning a card which should not exist period.

  “I overlay these two level four monsters, Fairy Dragon and Fairy’s Gift, to build the overlay network…” Yuto began very slowly and very eerily.

  His monsters which, he had intended to switch into attack position, so he could destroy his opponent’s defending monsters and leave cards in his hand as fodder for his ritual. Therefore, he could have Elemental Mistress Doriado land the final blow but instead, they were becoming the sacrifices for a summon which was not ritual born.

  Instead, the defending Fairy Dragon transformed into a glittering and cascading trail of pale green and Fairy’s Gift became a similar, effervescent light of gold. The lights intertwined and the virtual and primordial pool they were being sacrificed to arose underneath the battle field and simpered with hellish lights. The sacrifices were accepted.

  “From the black darkness, the fangs of rebellion that fight against the powers of oppression descend!” Yuto yelled.

  Something was in that primordial and nearly cosmic ooze. Lightning strikes arose with dashing crescendos from within. Each lash of blue light electrified Yuto’s heart and he felt some sort hunger, one he had never known before, was satiated. It felt like he had been reunited with someone very important; someone he had, perhaps, known in a similar life. Or, perhaps, that was an illusion rising from the impossibility of this situation and from the heinous anger he felt inside of him.

  “XYZ Summon!” Yuto yelled.

  There was a roar. A deafening roar that put the fear of God – no, the Devil – in Yuto’s tormentor. He trembled with fear whereas Yuto stood strong as he brought forth this new power from within his fiendish extra deck.

  “Rank Four! Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon!” Yuto screamed.

  The beast which had been summoned was like no monster either of them had ever seen before. It was a gorgeous creature with dark scales and a maw that seemed to ooze with infernal breath and the ability to tear through anything and everything. Including the both of them. But, it was loyal to its master who stood, shoulders squared, which welcomed it to the stage in which it would fight.

  “Attack, Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon!” Yuto yelled.

  Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon let loose a ferocious roar and attacked with all its might. It blew through the monster Ryuji had to defend. He then, unable to draw a good card, then forfeited his next turn. Thus, Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon attacked again. Lightning rich with hellish heat blew through with a powerful blast. Now, Ryuji’s field was empty and hopefully, it would stay that way. Yuto relished every moment.

  Ryuji could tell there was something wrong about both this monster and Yuto. He sacrificed yet another turn. He knew when to bow down, like a dog. But, he refused to let Yuto win. He didn’t want to let that creature of a child to win. This was totally unlike him.

  “I draw.”

  There was a pause. Ryuji glanced at his card and licked his lips. He looked as though he had something to turn the tide of battle against the two thousand attack points that Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon possessed.

  “I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode.”

  Soon, a card slammed onto his Duel Disc. There was a glittering cascade and a dragon was brought forth. It roared but as beautiful and lithe as it was, its glamour and power seemed to diminish when compared to the dragon it stared down.

  “Now, I activate my spell card: Black Pendant!” Ryuji said, and he began to laugh.

  His dragon now donned a necklace and its attack strength increased until it was the same as Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon. Yuto snickered. He realised what sort of desperate planed Ryuji had concocted. It was going to suicide out of this attack and let Black Pendant’s effect rid him of the last of his life points.

  “Attack, Alexandrite Dragon!” Ryuji yelled.

  “You’ve activated my spell card!” Yuto yelled. “Negate Attack!”

  Yuto’s trap card flipped up and there was a blast of wind. And Ryuji cowered. He ended his turn and he couldn’t help but feel like more than this duel was on the cusp of ending now that the turn was handed to Yuto.

  “I draw.” Yuto said calmly and he drew his card.

  He checked it and smirked. Rather than placing it, even briefly, in his hand. He placed it on his Duel Disc.

  “I activate Healing Wind. For every monster on the field, I receive two hundred life points. So, that’s four hundred life points.” Yuto said.

  The numbers which signified his life points grew to eight hundred. That was enough to narrowly avoid the penalty of destroying a monster equipped with Black Pendant. And now, with that settled, Yuto was swift to move to the battle phase of this turn but first, he had something important to do.

  “I tribute both overlay units to use Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon’s effect.” Yuto said. There was a dark crispness to his voice.

  “Wh-What? What does that do?” Ryuji cried out.

  “I can halve your original attack points and feed that half to my Dragon.” Yuto explained. “And since I’ve halved your dragon’s attack points… all that remains is that Black Pendant of yours.”

  The numbers which signified Alexandrite Dragon’s attack points dwindled rapidly until there was all but five hundred of them. Meanwhile, Yuto’s Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon received a grand total of two thousand points to add to its power. His dragon howled and the whole courtyard shook. Dust and leaves dwirled.

  “It ends now.” Yuto said. “Attack! Lightning Disobey!”

  Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon roared once more but there was a derisive finale to this roar. It shattered the concrete beneath them and it brought trees to their weakest. It even broke bones. Alexandrite Dragon shattered and Ryuji attempted to protect himself. He rose his arms to protect his face and shards of his dragon, what was supposed to have been trump card, scratched him.

  Blood threw scratches. As though they were real. They shouldn’t have been real.

  And it was in that moment, Yuto felt fear again. Not anger or anything akin, but fear.

  He watched, uselessly, as Ryuji slumped down. His stomach wrenched. Something was wrong. Dueling wasn’t supposed to leave injuries as severe as this. The monsters were holograms. They couldn’t really fight. And yet, Ryuji was down for the count and seemed to have injuries.

  Yuto glanced at his dragon. It looked back at him and bowed its head. Something about this situation was sick. It was really sick. And then his gaze returned to the body, cowering and bloody, of his tormentor. Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon softened until it was a figment of his imagination and of phosphenes scattering around the darkening scene.

  Yuto didn’t know what to do. He panicked. He called for help and eventually horrified adults gathered at the scene, but so many parts of that evening were a blur. He remembers at one point, someone came for Ryuji and there was an ambulance. He remembers flashing lights and sirens. And he remembers the way Ryuji’s parents looked at him with disgust.

  How dare you do this to my son? They both had that searing question in their hateful eyes.

  Yuto was terrified for the whole of that evening. After all, he had been the one to cause Ryuji’s injuries and they were more extensive than first thought. A couple of busted ribs, a cut to his eye which meant vision loss, and some other stuff. Yet it was weird. No one blamed him even though he knew he was the direct cause. It’s just. No one believed him. After all, Duel Monsters was an exceptionally safe game to play, especially in circumstances like this: in the courtyard of an elementary school.

  Still, Yuto took the occurrence deep into his heart. He didn’t understand where Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon or how it managed to inflict real world damage, but Yuto still took it all to the heart. He didn’t know what had happened. He was old enough to realise it was something awful, but he wasn’t old enough to understand it. All he knew, with straightforward conviction, was that he had a curse and a horrible one at that. Maybe it had been better if he had never found out and had never won a duel but regardless, it was knowledge he now carried.

  And it was knowledge that changed him. He didn’t want to hurt people. He didn’t want to be some sort of demonised and ostracised outsider. He just wanted to be a fairy tale hero. Right now, he felt like the dragon that had to be slain to save the princess and the townsfolk. He didn’t feel like he was the one who ought to raise a falchion blade but rather, the one who was pointed with such a weapon.

  After that, the dynamics of the classroom changed. Yuto wasn’t someone you could pick on now. People were scared of him and it lasted right until graduation. And after graduation, Yuto made sure to pick a middle school far, far away where rumours may not spread that far. Unfortunately, they had. Everyone in Heartland seemed to know him as the kid who could hurt people but with the fresh start, at least he was given a chance.

  A lot of things about Yuto changed after that fateful duel. He learned a sort of maturation beyond his years. He learned to be kinder and wiser. This othered him but it wasn’t the worst form of othering he had experienced.

  Then there were two other things about him which changed. One of which happened to be a change in his taste for literature. He still liked fantasy. But now, he preferred stories which were gaslit and dark with endings which were bittersweet with best. Still, of the changes, this was perhaps the most minor, but it was still important as it echoed into his dueling style.

  With his beloved ace monster torn in half, a fact that was conveniently omitted from the story that Ryuji’s parents spurned, Yuto couldn’t bring himself to use his Forest of Spirits deck anymore. He felt like he had desecrated such a pure-hearted deck so now, they mostly collected dust. Once in a while, he would say hello to his old friends but without Elemental Mistress Doriado with them, he couldn’t bring himself to do it often. It felt wrong without the card which was supposed to have been his eternal best friend.

  Instead, he had a new ace to fill her role and with a new ace, came a new deck. Yuto adopted his Phantom Knights deck after that duel. It seemed fitting since it cobbled together his old self and his new self. Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon seemed pleased with its new surroundings. It being summoned from Forest of Spirits archetype monsters was just wrong.

  But, Yuto still didn’t understand that monster and the feelings it had been awakened from. Truth be told, Yuto was terrified but he accepted it in good heart. He felt as though as rightful master to the impossible dragon that was Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon, he should remain level-headed and in control. After all, he didn’t want to be at the helm of something worse than the duel which had engraved on him so deeply and so darkly.


	3. Carded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dennis is in love. Yuya is disgusted, but attempts to be supportive.

  Yuya awkwardly glanced at Dennis. He fidgeted. Dennis beamed. It was creepy. Yuya squirmed. And he found himself awkwardly glancing at Dennis again. Dennis replied to such eye contact with a beam. It was still creepy.

  Yuya ripped his eyes from Dennis and let them pore into the cup of coffee he was holding.

  “It was very nice of you to invite me to your place, Yuya. It’s nice to feel welcomed somewhere for once.” Dennis commented. There was no ill-intent in his voice; a mere observation that seemed to leave him somewhere adjacent to puzzled.

  He had been sitting at the breakfast bar with Yuya for a few minutes now. He had arrived a few minutes ago; between his arrival and his sitting down, Yuya had made instant coffee for them both. It tasted okay.

  Yuya chuffed. “I’m glad.”

  Silence fell over them again. It lasted a second too long and both boys knew someone had to say something soon or else the quiet would consume them. And that was somehow worse than the already unpleasant tension between them. Yuya glanced at Dennis. He couldn’t find his tongue, let alone his words. Dennis cringed. He sighed. He realised that he couldn’t rely on Yuya to take the initiative.

  “Is now a bad time? I know we planned this ahead of things but is there something wrong?” Dennis asked.

  Yuya perked up animatedly; over-animatedly actually. His hands flew about. His eyes widened. His hair bounced up and down with his movements.

  “Not at all. It’s just… loud in my head, I guess.” Yuya replied. “I can barely hear myself nowadays… Yuri doesn’t want me to tell you this, but, he does miss you.”

  Dennis smiled. “Does he now…?” he mused.

  “Yeah…” Yuya mumbled.

  There was laughter in his head – Yuto and Yugo – and there was screaming – Yuri – but there were no thoughts: him. Yuya licked his lips.

  “But, um, I didn’t want to talk about that.” Yuya embarrassedly, hastily, added.

  “You didn’t…?” Dennis asked, actually surprised by that revelation.

  Yuya sucked in a breath. “You seem really happy lately, what is up with that?” he blurted out.

  Dennis blinked. “Is that… supposed to be a bad thing?” he asked.

  Yuya panicked. Again. “I didn’t mean it like that?”

  “Then tell me, how did you mean it?” Dennis asked sharply; his eyes hardened.

  Yuya swallowed. “I meant it more in a… I’m worried about you sort of way. As your friend.”

  “I still don’t see how that’s a problem.” Dennis asked.

  Dennis crossed his arms and bore a glare. He was getting huffy. He was seriously offended by what Yuya had brought up. It was absurd. He was absurd.

  “I’m not daft, Dennis. I don’t think it’s… healthy. I mean, Hikage isn’t… acting that way. Same with Hokuto and Yaiba. Nor any of the Heartlanders… It’s literally just you.” Yuya said.

  “We all have our coping mechanisms.” Dennis said, defending himself. “Theirs happen to be more common.”

  Yuya faced Dennis and bore a pleading look. “I’m worried about you, man. It’s…”

  “Weird?” Dennis interrupted him.

  “Yeah…” Yuya replied, defeated.

  “I’ve always been weird.” Dennis said.

  The way he spoke made it seem plain of the matter. He was too engrossed in his so-called weirdness to see it for what it really was. Insidious and unhealthy: a fantasy that had been played out so long that it had become something of a truth or reality. It was repulsive, but oddly sympathetic because it was Dennis.

  “Yeah but you’ve always been cute-weird. This is weird-weird.” Yuya said.

  “I appreciate your concern, Yuya. Really. It’s cute. It makes me feel loved even, but I am very happy. Both by myself, and with my lover.”

  Lover. That was the sort of word interwoven into many pieces of lovely and romantic poetry and prose. It seemed perverse for a love that was effervescent and pure. However, the way Dennis said that word seemed to twist it from something sublime to something grotesque. He sounded genuinely in love but his love, from the outside perspective, was disgusting.

  Yuya grimaced. “Dennis.” he said, his voice falling low. “Your  _lover_ ,” he put strained emphasis on that beautiful yet ugly word, “is a card.”

  “Yes… And?” Dennis replied.

  Everything about Dennis, right now in this tense moment, seemed to be a pretence. However, Yuya was certain that Dennis was genuine in his nonchalance. He sincerely thought this conversation was about a non-issue.

  Yuya’s body relaxed. The tension in his shoulders fell. He realised there was no point arguing with Dennis, the foolishly and unhealthily lovestruck Dennis, that was in front of him.

  “Whatever… So long as your happy.” Yuya conceded.

  “Oh, I am very happy, thank you for asking!” Dennis exclaimed. He smacked his hands together. “In fact, not too long ago, Trapeze Magician and I went on a date. It was the sweetest thing!”

  Yuya’s stomach knotted. Dennis was talking about a card, a duel monster like it was a human. It was sweet in that it rotted his teeth, it was poison in that it rotted his mind with disgust.

  “Ha. Really? You don’t say… Tell me more.” Yuya said; against his will, he only wished to be polite unto his companion, after all.

  “I will and shall.” Dennis replied with a decisive nod.

  And so, Yuya listened out of courtesy of his mad and eccentric friend. He tried to focus on the taste of coffee, but its flavour dulled in comparison to the taste of this conversation was putting on his tongue.


	4. Separation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayaka is already grieving for Ruri; she doesn't want to loose Shun, too.

   Sayaka was devastated when Yuto and Shun put forth their plan to rescue Ruri. She had already been dwelling on heavy-hearted guilt ever since her kidnapping, but the thought of a rescue mission was too dangerous and too daunting. She wanted to protest but there was little she could do. She was of fragile, small voice and those boys had already steeled themselves as much as they could in the chaos.

   Ever since Ruri’s kidnapping, everyone had been a changed person. She had been an integral part of everyone’s support systems. Listening kindly to every complaint and helping out as she could. She was the wartime rose, without a doubt.

   Sayaka had always admired Ruri. She was confident and serene with grace beyond her years. She was magnetic, and her placidity always drew Sayaka in and made her feel safe. Even in the hardships that had followed the invasion and fall of Heartland, Ruri had that effect not just on her, but everyone. With her gone, all Sayaka could do was dwell and concentrate on the guilt she felt.

   If she had been a better duellist then maybe, just maybe, things could have turned out for the better.

   And, as Sayaka looks at the Yuto and Shun who have made their final speech and were going through their farewells, she wonders what someone stronger than her might say. Sayaka wants to say a lot things: she wants to yell and protest. She doesn’t want Yuto or Shun to leave. Especially Shun…

   Sayaka’s woes in regard to Ruri’s kidnapping vanished when compared to Shun’s. After all, he had always been an overprotective older brother. This was likely his nightmare scenario. It was no wonder that he was so fiercely in favour of sending himself and Yuto into another world in the hopes of fighting against Academia and rescuing Ruri.

   For a while now, Sayaka had been quietly admiring Shun, as well as Ruri. There was something stellar about the Kurosaki siblings; in their own ways, they were differently cut from the crowd. Its not that Sayaka was envious, although… there was a hint of that too. She just wanted to be close to them both.

   In the immediate wake and grief of losing Ruri, Sayaka had attempted her best at soothing Shun. But his grief was terrifying. It was violent and wrathful, as teary as it was. He felt strong emotions and Sayaka was, honestly, trembling as a result of them but it was likely better for him to at least have some outlet that didn’t hurt himself. It was, in hindsight, a scary moment but Sayaka cherishes it nonetheless.

   And as he and Yuto gear up to leave, Sayaka finally finds her little voice.

   “Wait.” she mumbles.

   Allen, beside her, nudges her. “Guys, Sayaka wants to say something.” He barks at them before they can go.

   The separation was immediate. Sayaka knew herself to be more useful here, tending to the wounded and preparing soup but still. She wanted to say something.

   “Please come home safely.” She mumbles.

   Yuto glances at Shun. His expression softens whereas Shun’s does not.

   “We will.” Shun assures her nonetheless.

   After such a curt statement, turns his back on Sayaka and the rest of the group. And then, he and Yuto were gone.

   With that Sayaka found herself on her knees, sobbing. She was certain that they wouldn’t come home safely; if at all.


	5. Society

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri is...

   Society is just.

   That is what Yuri believes. The world he was brought into, the world he had always known, was just. That is what Yuri believes. The strong eat the weak and the weak starve. That’s just how it is. How it is in nature: among the plants and animals of this world. And thus, that is how it was among the most disturbing creatures yet, humanity.

   Society is healthy.

   That is what Yuri believes. He believes that there is no other way to govern the realms he knows except than that of an iron fist. He believes that mercy for the fools is pitiful and they should not be spared the cruelties of the world if they wish to believe in such flights of fancy such as compassion or entertainment.

   Yuri is the top of society.

   That is what Yuri believes. He believes that he is something a prince. Someone worthy amongst the worthless. That is what Yuri believes and that is how he carries himself. He keeps his shoulders back and his head up. He has no weak spot and even if he did, he would not allow it to surface upon him: bedecked in extravagance and oozing with charm.

   However. If society is just and if society is healthy and if Yuri was at the top of society, why is that he feels so sickened?

   He doesn’t understand. He has no idea as to why he feels this way. Which in turn, leaves him without theories that he can apply to this wound like stitches. But, all he knows is that society is just; society is healthy; and he was the top, so deservedly, of society.


	6. Spirits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who keeps suggesting that?

   Yuri is not lonely. Why would you suggest such a thing?

   However, is he mad?

   He might be.

   As proud as he was, even Yuri doesn’t know what this means or how it figures into the course of his life. He was just as perfectly sane as the next person. True, his hobbies were gruesome and on occasion, morbid and yes, he delights in that which drips with cruelty and sadism but that did not mean that he was anything but mentally sound. He was top of his classes after all and he was a victor for a reason.

   The only reason people dislike him is because he is so good at everything. Those beneath him ooze jealousy and envy. So, Yuri avoids them, and he is avoided by them. As is the way, the only way.

   But, he’s not lonely. And he’s never been lonely.

   So, who is that keeps suggesting that?

   It makes Yuri want to scream.

   Besides. He’s not lonely. Even though that’s what the voices would suggest. He doesn’t hear them often and they’re not the echoes of things overheard. These were distinct and unique. They weren’t baseless either. They seemed to emanate from where he’d keep his deck. It was strange.

   It’s almost like the voice that’s always suggesting that to him, is a lot closer than he first thought. That revelation comes with many and Yuri comes to, rather madly, wonder if his cards can…?


End file.
